Good Evening my sisters and brothers  in Christ !

1.    Today is the third day of Holy Week.  During Holy Week the church remembers Jesus’  betrayal,  his suffering, and his being put to death like a criminal on a cross. However, this evening we heard from the Gospel according to John,  words  Jesus spoke during  his last public ministry.  
The words that He  spoke immediately after  the Greeks asked to see him, are the subject of this sermon.

And those  words are full of Good News.
     
2. First he says that “ the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”   With the benefit of almost 2,000 years that have passed since the Gospel of John was written, we know that Jesus was referring to the glory that would come from the cross.  The cross was to become  the symbol of his reign.  

A reign that was not of an earthly King who would lead a  great army to overthrow the Romans, as the Jewish community had hoped he would. Rather, His reign is over a kingdom that is based upon love, and that kingdom is manifested by  the Church that he established, and where he is Incarnate, and we are his disciples.
 
3.  Jesus  then says.   “Very truly I tell you,  unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” The fruit that has come about from his death upon the cross, are the millions  of men and women from all nations  who are followers of Jesus.

4.  Jesus  then makes a short and powerful statement.   “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (v. 25).

   That statement begs the question: How does hating life in this world lead to keeping it for an eternal life ?   One example of the meaning of these words,  was dramatically illustrated recently  in my presence.    I  attended a meeting of five men, whose lives in the world had led each of them to  prison.    These five men, who were on parole and resided in a half way house,  had come together to  share with each other how living in the world had brought them grief, and, how they had found hope .....  because they had chosen the Way, which is eternal life, and that means being a follower of Jesus (see John 17:3 for Jesus’ definition of eternal life).     Each of those saved sheep  told a story about their journey. And each concluded that they had realized that to follow the ways of the world meant losing their lives to drugs, to booze, to criminal activities. The ways of the world that they had experienced that were supposed to give them pleasure had led them to prison. One of them had been behind bars for 20 years.  
 
Each one, with no exception, had  been saved from his life in the world, because he had found hope in Jesus. One of them put it this way,  “the choice was the world or the Way.” 

And, they had found the Way, at least in part, because someone had been a servant of Jesus to them.  Someone had given them a Bible to read while in prison. Someone had visited them and talked the talk to them about Jesus while they were in prison. And someone from a church community who was a complete stranger,  had given  one of the guys in that circle $300 so that he could  live while in transition after being released from prison.  With that $300 he had shelter and was able to look for a job and  be a member of that small community in giving  thanks for being saved from the world by choosing the Way. 

5.    Jesus then says , “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.” (v 26).  How does serving Jesus  today relate to  ministry ?    The ministry of all members of the church  is set forth in the BCP. There is one common ministry for both lay members and ordained members: all of us are to represent Christ and his Church in the world (BCP pp 855,856).      Examples of serving Christ in ministry in the world are found  in  scriptures and one that comes to mind  is from Matt. 25: (31-40 ) and goes like this.   We are to feed the hungry, give drink to those who  thirst, welcome  the stranger, cloth the naked, and visit those in prison. When we do so, we are also feeding Jesus, we are giving drink and clothing to Jesus, and we are welcoming Him when we welcome the stranger, especially the stranger who comes to church for worship. And for the five men who had been in prison, and had gathered to give thanks to God for their salvation in following the Way,  they too had been visited in prison by  Jesus.  “....where I am, there will my servant be also.” (v 26)   

6.   Jesus then says  “ Whoever serves me, God will honor. “ (v. 26).  So it will be, that the  faithful servant of Jesus will not only be walking with Jesus, but will also  be honored by His Father.  

That my sisters and brothers is Good News indeed.  
 

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